OT: Sanchez ripped off by Ponzi scheme

NormZauchin said:

Perhaps I should change "most of us" to "a prudent investor."
When one has wealth in the millions of dollars, trusting someone in an affinity group, rather than doing due diligence by consulting a variety of financial planners and financial organizations, is, to say the least, lazy and naïve.

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XLIX said:

What makes you so sure they didn't perform their due diligence? It seems that this individual worked for a legit brokerage house and had a spotless record prior to the crap hitting the fan. He was on the NFLPA's list of approved advisors.

I'm not sure exactly what you think Mark Sanchez should have known a couple years ago that even the SEC and the NFLPA didn't.

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NormZauchin said:

I think it a bit odd that, after doing due diligence, Sanchez settles upon a financial advisor who just happens to be a "devout Christian" and a member of his church.

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NormZauchin said:

There is also the issue of paying attention to your investments. I have a friend who has a financial advisor and my friend takes very little interest in what his financial advisor does with his money. Not a good strategy.

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PatsWickedPissah said:

Good advice given here previously. I'm an engineer with an MBA who manages his own mutual fund portfolio, but diverse group of Index funds from efficient institutions like Vanguard or lesser so Fidelity are a good 1st choice for those unable or unwilling to pay much attention to investing
Selecting a personal financial advisor because you share a group affinity is fraught with risk. I was concerned about what my wife should do if I dropped dead from one of my various cancers, etc. So when neighbors invited us and others to a free dinner at a nice restaurant hosted by their advisor, I said "Yeah, free dinner!". Not one word during the dinner about how the advisor invested the $ or details on past years performances, instead all we heard were testimonials about what a great guy he was. My guess is that he sells them various annuities which carry a nice commission. Pissed him off when he called me up later and I cited the lack of info as a reason I wouldn't be investing.

There are well known public persons who simply invest your money in appropriate mutual funds congruent with your goals for a fee. I don't use them but I know others well who do and they have had decade+ good results. That's where I'd send my wife.

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XLIX said:

What exactly do you find odd about that? Should he have just thrown darts at a dartboard and picked a complete stranger at random?
What exactly does "paying attention to your investments" entail? If you broker is submitting to you falsified statements, how are you supposed to know they're fake? I get 401(k), social security and pension statements all the time, but I sure don't go beyond examining those statements. I wouldn't have the first clue how to get in touch with a custodian to verify the 401(k) is actually there.

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BradyFTW! said:

He stole that money from the Jets, now someone's stealing it from him. Circle of life.

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fair catch fryar said:

Don't forget how the Jets stole that money from their fans and how some of their fans probably run plenty of ponzu schemes out of that sleazy cesspool they call New Jersey.

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NormZauchin said:

Yes, what I said implies that he should throw darts at a dartboard as a method of picking a financial advisor or institution. Isn't that what everyone does who isn't fortunate enough to have a financial advisor in his church congregation?
And, of course, if you have millions of dollars invested, the only way to check on the safety of those investments is by looking at financial reports given you by the financial advisor. You couldn't request documentation of trades executed on your behalf in stocks, or of municipal bond purchases, T-bills, etc.

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XLIX said:

I could create fake documentation of all those things in my sleep.

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